1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector and a connector assembly and to an assembling or disassembling method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,635 discloses a connector with a housing main body that is connectable to a mating housing that has a lock receiving portion. A lock arm is cantilevered back from a front part of the housing main body and is configured to engage the lock receiving portion for holding the housing main body and the mating housing together. A detector is mounted on the housing main body and is movable from an initial position to a detection position. The detector is configured to detect whether the mating housing has been connected properly to the housing main body based on whether the detector can be moved to the detection position.
A disengaging portion is formed on a rear part of the lock arm and is pressed to release an engaged state with the lock receiving portion. A protection wall stands up from the housing main body and covers the upper surface of the disengaging portion to prevent the disengaging portion from being turned up.
The detector includes a flat plate-shaped rear portion located behind the lock arm and covering a rear part of the disengaging portion. The rear portion to be pressed when the detector is moved to the detection position.
The engaged state of the lock arm and the lock receiving portion must be released to separate the housings. Thus, fingers or a jig must be placed on a side of the disengaging portion facing the protection wall from above and the disengaging portion then must be pressed down. However, a space near the protection wall for receiving fingers or the jig becomes smaller as the connector becomes smaller. Thus, the disengaging portion is difficult to operate.
The invention was completed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to facilitate an operation of releasing an engaged state of a lock arm.